THERFIELD NEWS Issue No.140*, 24 Feb 2006

During half term I had the pleasure of skiing with the senior school ski party. This was an outstanding trip. The students behaved impeccably and were a credit to themselves and the school. All students made real progress with their skiing in addition to which they were able to enjoy the wonderful Alpine scenery. Full write ups for this trip and the lower school ski party will be available in the next edition of the Therfield News.

I am also delighted to report that the school has once again achieved Sports Mark accreditation. This is testament to the outstanding work currently being done in PE.

I will holding a surgery on Wednesday 22nd March from 6pm to 8pm to meet with parents who have any concerns or issues they would like to discuss concerning the school and their son/daughter. Please phone my PA, Mrs Jo Devonshire, on 01372 814432 to arrange a time.

Childcare Student of the Year Award 2006 This year we have entered Miriam Taylor 13RS into the Childcare Student of the Year Awards. This Award is given to a student performing brilliantly on his/her course in Early Years Education or Childcare. The student will show that he/she has the potential to be a great Early Years professional. The award is jointly run by Nursery World and Heinemann Educational.

Below is an extract from the testimonial given for Miriam by her teacher Mrs Rogers:
"I have had the pleasure of teaching Miriam since Year 10 - I first taught her for Child Development AQA GCSE. From the start Miriam showed excellent practical and theoretical skills, thirsty for knowledge and quite unrelenting in her perseverance and determination to succeed. Miriam obtained a grade A for her efforts.
For the last two years Miriam has continued her quest to succeed - completing a Child Development unit to A level 'A' standard. She organises her own placements and inspires others, often helping me 'team teach' in class. Miriam has also given up her own 'precious time' to help Year 11 students achieve in Child Development."

We wish Miriam well with her entry for this competition.

Valuable Experience Next week Year 10 Child Development students will be spending mornings at local nurseries and playgroups as part of their GCSE course. Students will have an opportunity to explore how Child Care operates in a formal setting as well as gain first hand experience of the care and education of the under 5s.

Science Revision Sessions The Science department has set up specific revision sessions for both Year 9 SATS and Year 11 GCSEs. These non compulsory sessions started at the beginning of February. The remaining sessions are listed below, please encourage your child to attend if they will be doing either their SATS or GCSEs this year.

Year 9 Science SATS revision every Tuesday lunchtime in N9 at 1.30pm

Year 11 GCSE Science revision sessions every Wednesday lunchtime in A6 at 1.30pm

UK Maths Challenge Congratulations to Miren Patel (9CRG), Michael Smith (9ABA), Jesse Lloyd (8JRB) and Chris Knight (BJRB) who have been selected to represent Therfield in the regional finals of the UK Maths Challenge on 17th March in Croydon. Good luck!

Sainsbury's Active Kids 2006 Once again Therfield are collecting these vouchers so please send them into the Main Office. Please help us to collect even more this time around.

Maths Booster Classes A group of willing volunteers from Year 12 will be helping students will work on a one-to-one basis, and the emphasis is on gaining confidence.

Parents' Classes for Maths Although still in the pipeline, the series of extra-curricular sessions to help parents with their understanding of their child's mathematics has had to be postponed. Mrs Foley hopes to run these in the summer term.

A Tall Order Therfield entered three teams for the SATRO problem solving competition which was held at Heathside School on Tuesday 21st February. The challenge was to build a tower from paper and card with a bulb at the top that can be switched on by pulling a cord. The Year 8 students were a team of scientists comprising Lucy Smith Jones (BJRB), Abi Jones (8JMH), Laura Forrest (8LCH), William Bailey (8NLE), Graham Morris (8NWA) and Nathan Read (8NLE).

A team from Year 10 and another made up of students from Years 12 and 13, were all Technology students. All teams tackled the task with enthusiasm and worked very well within their teams. The Year 10s were beaten into third place by a matter of millimetres. The sixth form team came second and will now go on to represent Therfield in the finals at the BP offices in Sunbury on Thames on the 14th March. Congratulations to all.

The Year 10 Team were Ellis Devonshire (10NPK), Alex Mikheeva (10NPK), Conrad Honey (10LHO), Sarah Cannon (10JMS), Tom Ball (10PJA) and Matt Major (lOLHO).

The Year 12/13 team were Paolo Condello (13HD), Paul Williams (13SH), Chris Woods (12ST) and Oliver Dixon (12ST).

RUSH Update from Liz Noble The money banked since December has now risen to £5000, which will purchase a plot on which to site a corn mill and to house two women. The application has gone to the Charity Commission and we hope to have charitable status shortly. Once this is secured I will be able to approach the Rotary Club for matched funding so that building work can proceed to house four more widows and their children. Chickens purchased last summer have surpassed themselves. We gave Mercy two chickens and she now has fifteen! She will give two of these to Mwanatena and the remainder will continue to provide additional cash for Mercy and her three children. Parcels of baby clothes from B@ttitude have arrived and a consignment of heavier items - sewing machines, computers and carpentry tools will go out by sea in soon, so if you have any of these items I would be delighted to receive them.

I will be returning on 16th July and staying until the end of September. In my luggage I hope to be taking lots of spectacles and vitamin tablets so all donations of these items will be gratefully received.

Jumble Sale Our next Jumble Sale will be on Saturday 25th March from 1pm to 3pm. Please bring your jumble to the school either after 3.30pm on Friday 24th or before 10am on the 25th. Any helpers would be most welcome. Please contact Julie Shettle via the Main Office on 01372 818123.

Parents' Prayer Group The group meets twice a term and the next meeting is on Monday 6th March at 8pm at the school. A warm welcome is extended to all. Further information can be obtained by calling J Poole on 07932 865476.

Science Revision Guides These guides are still on sale and can be purchased from the science technicians.

Royal Institute Masterclasses in Mathematics The Royal Institute Masterclasses are hosted by the University of Guildford for gifted maths students from Year 8. This year Madeleine Reeve (5PHE), Sophie Jackman (5PHE), Katherine Knight (8JMH) and Jesse Lloyd (8JRB) will be taking part.

Second Hand Uniform Sale This Friday, during Academic Tutoring, we will be selling good condition second-hand uniform for a fraction of the new price. So if your child needs anything, come and see us for a bargain!

Open Day North Leatherhead Community Centre, Kingston Road Saturday 25th February from 2pm to 7pm.

Vacancies

Administrative Assistant Salary is in the range SY5 from £13,845 to £16,227 Pro Rata

You will be responsible for maintaining the computer databases relating to student information, operate the school's switchboard and deal with routine enquiries and admin tasks as appropriate. Competency within Microsoft Office packages will be needed and previous experience of the SIMS system would be preferred. You should be a team player and able to work in a busy environment; have good communication skills and a sense of humour.

Hours: This is a full time position (36 hours per week) for 42 weeks a year.

Part Time Fundraising Manaeer/ PR Officer Two days a week with pro-rata salary in the range of £8,000 - £10,000 p.a. depending upon experience.

An opportunity to fulfil a new and highly proactive dual role at Therfield School. You will be responsible, in conjunction with the Head Teacher, for both developing the Public Relations profile and implementing the fundraising strategy in accordance with the goals and objectives contained within Therfield's School Development Plan. Previous experience, especially in the media and promotions sector would be an advantage for the self motivated, successful applicant.

Assessment Coordinator/Work Experience Coordinator Salary is in the range of Surrey Grade C £15,684 to £18,232 Pro Rata

Required for April 2006, an enthusiastic and wellorganised administrator to coordinate assessment and work experience within this successful school. As a member of the admin team you will also be required to perform various admin duties.
You will need to be IT literate and competent in data handling, you will also requite good people skills, a sense of humour, and the ability to work to deadlines, confidentiality and flexibility.

Hours: This is a full time position (36 hours per week) for 42 weeks a year.

For further details on any of the above positions and an application form please contact Tricia Barker on 01372 818123 Ext 262.

Closing date for applications - 6th March 2006. Therfield School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Dates for Your Diary

* issued in error as no.144